Neverending War English Version
by Felipe Salvador
Summary: Neverending War series, now, in english! Translated by Bruno Zatti Kopte
1. Chapter 1

_A few words before the beginning..._

_Well, A quick word about the history: It's about a (really) big anime's croosover, together with the main history and based in characters created by myself (as you all will notice when the reading starts).  
What I can say for those who read is that they should follow the history step by step, without rush for an anime appearing from nowhere...Everything has its time, so TAKE IT EASY!_

_That's it...good reading?_

**- PROLOGUE ...**

"...How can you...still be alive...?"

"Alive you say?... Ha...don't worry...my dear predecessor...everything that I am is now just...pieces!"

"Yes! It can't be compared with the power that I possessed before THAT happenned! Damm them...!"

"Frankly I don't know if I should feel sorrow or..."

"...But you'll help me! And you know you have no choice!"

"Obbey me Keinzer...You can't oppose me!"

"...No! I don't want to participate of this again! I already commited a mistake giving in for that crazy named Luke!  
I don't want to put all in danger one more time!"

"Obey! Obey!"

"...No!"

**-/-**

"... NO!"

In a small room in a unknown place, a man had just awakened from a terrible nightmare.

soaked with sweat...And a shallow breathing, he keeps seated in the bed..still thinking in the dream.

It was the fifth nightmare in a row.

Trying to calm down he supports his back in the mattress of the bed and closes his eyes, mentally reviewing what had just happened...

It was a dark place, with little light... In fact, only the light from a moon hidden behind thick and black clouds.  
Around there were many graves and markers like in a huge graveyard.

...Less than a meter ahead, an open grave attracted his attention. Not that its appearance had anything special...because it looked like a big hole in the ground without any marker indicating who or what was buried there, but there was a voice.  
weak an disturbing, that called for his name... 'Keinzer'...

Attending to the call he walks slowly until the grave and look directkly to its bottom, which couldn't be seen.  
There was much darkness, what leaved the impression that the hole, already big, was deeper than it looked at first view.

Then the voice became stronger an more powerful...the echoes produced inside the open grave made it appear like a superior being was in front of him...

Both began to discuss...Until that in the end the voice always finished by haunting him, ordering him to obbey it.  
Keinzer felt so deseperate and haunted with all this that ended up falling inside the darkness...always waking up at that point...

"...Damm it." He says, still supported in the mattress, using one of his hands to rub his eyes. "Why can't you leave me alone? Why? Why?"

Tries to release some of the anger and fear in the bed, giving it a punch, then one more time supporting himself in the mattress, worried and exhausted. Those nightmares were stealing his sleep in the last five days.

"That's not normal..." He speaks to himself, now looking in the direction of the window's room, open, showing the starry night. The curtains swinged slowly with the breeze. "I am sure that...these dreams are something more than...just fruit of my imagination. You want to speak something to me isn't it bastard...?"

The man sits in the end of the bed and supports his head with the hands, thinking, still looking for the window and the sky.

"...I hope that one day...we can forgive ourselves by what will happen...once again." He speaks...at the same time that a strong wind swings violently the curtains.

**-/-**

**Neverending War  
****Chapter 1 - Tecnomage : Blood and Machine**

**-/-**

...With a dry and quick scream he wakes up, scaried and fearing the nightmare that he just experienced. With his heart beating quickly and a shallow breathing, he stares in the room's darkness while trying to recover from the dream.

"...Julian? Julian!"

Almost at the same time the door of the room opens and next the click of an interruptor can be heard. Light invades what seems to be a small and common bedroom...

Above its bed there was a boy, aparently between 17 and 18 years old, with wild dark brown hair. His eyes were still getting used with the light and remained closed and protected.

Just entering the bedroom, there was a woman of about forty years old, maybe more. She was wearing a big white robe and had great dark hair in a braid that went past her waist.

"Julian, my son, what happened?" She says as she aproaches from the boy.

"..Ahn..." The boy called Julian now seemed to recover his senses. Little by little he returned to reality. "Ah...hi mom.  
I'm sorry, did I woke up you again?"

"That doesn't matter and you know it." She says, passing her hand through the young man's hair. "But tell me what happened.  
another nightmare?"

"Yeah...I think so."

"Hum...my poor boy..."

The mother hugs her son, Puting his head over her breast. The boy just smiles a little.

"Calm down mom...Everything's okay now."

"Maybe it is now". She speaks, breaking contact with her son. "But I'm much worried about you Julian. These nightmares are getting more frequent...that isn't normal!"

"Yeah...I know..." He says with his head low, looking at the tangled sheets. He had moved so much in his sleep that them had been thrown in the floor.

"Huhh..." She sighs and caresses with her hand the son's ruffled hair. "Can you remember what the nightmare was about?"

The boys looks at his mother like if he knew she would ask this already. Then he closes his eyes and makes an effort to review what was tormenting him so much...in vain.

"No." He speaks finally. "Nothing comes to my mind."

"Like the other times." she finishes. "But that's okay...are you sure you feel better? Everything's alright?'

"Yes, don't worry." he smiles. "the only problem is that it takes all my sleep "  
"So relax and try to rest.You don't have to sleep if you don't want to, but stay here quiet." She then gets up and directs for the door.

"What're you going to do?"

"I'm going to make something warm so you can get back to sleep. get a little calmer..."

"Ohn that's not necessary mom...you can go back to bed if you want to..."

"you know that I can't sleep knowing you're being haunted by these bad dreams." She speaks at the door.  
"Now stay here that I'll be right back."

"Heh...okay..."

The mother then exits the bedroom and directs for what should be the kitchen, where she would make a drink for her son.

Julian, on the other side, sits in his bed and releases a deep and long sigh, thinking. then, he moves his right arm and starts to watch the palm of his hand.

"I wonder if it's you that's doing this to me...?" he says to himself before staying silent again.

**-/-**

A few hours later...

"I'm going to the institute mom!" The boy says, puting a bag in his back with some objects as books and notepads.

"Going for the institute? Are you sure you are good enough to go Julian?" the mother says from another room in the house.

"Yeah! Don't worry!" He gets a small card from his pocket and pass it through a slim hole in the door. This, then, emits a quick noise like a 'bip' and opens. "Bye mom!"

"Goodbye my son! Take care!"

He exits the place and the door closes automatically.

The young man walks in the direction of what seemed to be a bus point or any other collective transport, because a signal next to the street's corner showed a white retangle over a black back.

But it couldn't be said that in this place there were normal buses...

Julian's house, like several others next to his, had a strange design. It was spherical, resembling a metalic ball half-buried in the ground with doors and windows.

The few people passing by also were worth a look:many of them were actually some kind of android, completely metal made,  
resembling normal human beings. Others possessed just some parts of their bodies(mostly limbs) made of some metalic alloy,  
like if the original had been exchanged by the artificial ones. Summing it all up, a population a 'little' out of the ordinary.

Far away, vehicles(ships actually) could be seen flying at great speeds, like real cars in busy highways. The difference was that these ships went by air instead of land...Despite of that, there was an huge density of these vehicles in a distant part of that city, where there were huge skycrapers as well. Probally the center of the city... Julian lived in what could be called 'suburb'...even if it was too much technological to be called this way.

That great futuristic city had a name: Autonoe...the same name of its continent.

About five minutes later, a vehicle like a bullet train runs fast in the street in front of Julian's house. He makes a signal and the 'train' desacelerates slowly...until it gets completely stopped and a double door automatically opens in front of the boy, stending a stair for him to enter. He does it so, greeting the android piloting.

"Mr. Julian. It's a pleasure having you aboard once more." Speaks the android.

"My pleasure, as usual! Never late!" Says the boy satisfied.

"Please take a seat so that we can leave."

"Yes, on my way..."

Julian goes to the backseats looking for a good spot. In the back he sees someone standing, waving quickly with one of the hands. the person makes a signal for him to come closer and points down like if there were a place.

the boy goes until the bus' back where he meets an young man, also between 17 and 18 years old, with dark blue hair, big glasses in his face and several books in his lap.

"thanks by keeping me a place elliot." Julian says as he sitts next to the boy. "It's not always we get such an empty collective.

"No problem." The other boy says. "yeah, really...I thought we were late for class but it looks like we are early!"

"Hehehe!"

"But tell me Julian, how are you?"

"..."Julian stares elliot deeply. "Depends. If you are asking about that question...well...no, I'm not okay."

"Hum...Another of those strong nightmares?"

"Yeah" Says. "So strong that I woke up again in the middle of the noon...I don't know how I managed to sleep a little more after. I guess it was...the drink my mother made for me."

"Good you can count with her." Elliot says smiling. "But tell me...can you remember anything this time?"

"No..." The boy says, disapointed. "Don't matter how hard I try...Nothing! Everything I know is that's something very bad!  
And soon after I wake up, seems to vanish from my head."

"Hum..." Elliot corrects his glasses and cross his arms. "That been happening a couple of months already...surely they aren't normal nightmares."

Both stay quiet for a moment. Elliot with closed eyes, thinking, while Julian looked at the city, passing quickly through the collctive's window.

"There's...something..."

"Hum?" Elliot pays attention to Julian who had just said something.

"...There's something telling me that, maybe, it all came from this..." Julian says, showing his right arm.

"...Now that you mentioned it...it's possible." Elliot says. "I already studied a bit about 'Tecnomages', like you...It's said that bionical parts can affect the metabolism and mind but...that's all I know."

"Mr. Dmitri had told me that already."

"The...mr. dmitri?" The boy questions. "He's a Tecnomage as well isn't?"

"Yes. Maybe's because of it that he knows so much about this kinda things."

"And if I remember well he's also responsible by yours nanotechnological and cibernetical implants right?"

"Yeah...Because of that mr. dmitri is like a father to me and I respect him a lot.

"I understand..." Agrees Elliot, nodding. "If not for him, maybe you wouldn't be here right now..."

"..." Julian starts to remember vaguely those fatidic days...

**FLASHBACK**

Next to Autonoe's center...

"Hey let's get this done! We need to mine all this uranium until tomorrow by midday!"

A big excavation blocking several streets and changing some collectives' routes was being finished. With the help of many heavy bulldozers, the element, important to fuel several powerplants in the city was being slowly mined.

About a kilometer from there...in a big building denominated Institute of Education, several students in one of the classrooms watched the machines doing their work...many stayed in the windows while others saw it from 'far', seated in their chairs.

"All those machines working in the excavation are incredible..." Elliot comments in one of the chairs, while looking for one window. A big excavator could be seen from there. "Don't you think Julian? Julian?..."

Julian could be found seated behind elliot, focused...but not in the bulldozers excavating...but instead in a certain person... a girl talking with her friends, unworried and smiling.

"...It seems you got it bad for her huh?"

"Ahn...?" The boy says breaking out of his reverie. "...Well, maybe..."

"Forget her man...you know how much self-centered she is. She doesn't even like that you be near her." Elliot speaks.

"Yeah, I know..." He says.

"That's just an advice I give you... look! All she cares about is speaking how important she is to her friends. Just because she's the president's daughter..."

Elliot was right... The girl was promoting the great work the governement was doing for the city's future, while her friends surrounded her impressed.

Julian just watched her...and when she noticed that just rolled her eyes, ignoring him. The boy perceived that sadly...

Back to the excavation, several workers back off as an huge block of uranium is moved from inside the excavation... The block is carried by a great machine and loaded inside a even bigger container made of an alloy especially created to protect from the radiation.

"Sir!" One of the workers speaks for the man who seemed to be in charge. "There's too many tons of uranium down there! We won't be able to remove everything in schedule using the bulldozers.

"...Hum...so use the explosives." He says seriously.

"But...wouldn't that cause problems?"

"Do as I said! You're payed to obey and not to think!"

"...Yes sir."

In minutes, explosives are placed around the hole and then detonated... The tremendous explosion calls everybody attention.  
It seemed like the explosives reacted with the uranium causing several explosions not just next to the workplace but also in other points of the city, culminating in a three kilometers radius' affected area!

There much more uranium than previoulsly thought!

"Damm it! Stop that! We're all gonna die!" Speaks the boss for that those in charge of detonation.

"It's impossible! It's a chain raction!" one of them says a second before one of the explosion hit a building far from them,  
crushing it slowly. The chaos now began to spread...People ran desesperated from one side to another while nearby ships and collectives traveled farther away from the area.

In the Institute... the students observed everything somewhat scared...until some explosions hit the structure of the building. the students begin to deseperate and run away from the classroom, fearing the construction's fall.

Elliot and Julian stand from their chairs and get out from the classroom, but before that...Julian suddenly stops and looks back.

"What's the matter man? Let's get the hell outta here!" Elliot says.

"Go ahead!" Says Julian. "I'll follow soon after!"

"But what are you going to do?"

"GO!"

Elliot, even if unwillingly,ran away fast. Julian goes back to the classroom and in a corner, where he sees the girl he watched before...curled up, crying and frightened.

"What do you want!" She yells.

"Let's get out! Come on!" He says giving her his hand.

"There's no way out! All exits must be blocked by now! We are going to die!" She says while crying desesperately.

"No we aren't!Come on, give me your hand!" He says streching his arm to her.

Against her will, the girl gets Julian's hand and both start to run fast...At the same time, the room's ceiling collapses...

While running in the hallways, they observe the lights falling and breaking in the ground, releasing sparks everywhere.  
The walls and the ceiling started to show big cracks and the entire place was shaking!

Trying to guess where the others had gone, Julian and the girl run in the undamaged hallways while everything else behind them falled apart.While running the hallway in front of them is blocked by a collapse...several rocks were in their way.

"And now?" She asks, yelling and terrified. "Look where you got us! We're gonna die because of you idiot!"

"..." He was trying to ignore what she said, thinking in a way to escape, looking everywhere for a breach...and...one second later another collapse, this time above them, surprise both. "Watch out!"

"Aaaah!"

The rocks make a strong boom and rise a thick layer of dust, hindering anyone from seeing anything. Soon the dust dissipates and the scene shows Julian under several of the stones, with just a free arm and a free leg, while the girl was on her knees away from him...probaly pushed by the boy before she was hit.

But he had payed a high price...couldn't feel his arm and leg...

"Arhhnn..." The boy tries hard to get out from under the rubble. At the same time the girl get up and look up.

Sunlight was coming in...A way out!

The girl tries to climb the rubble, leaving Julian behind while making an effort to reach the exit. She gets exhausted and almost hopeless for a moment, until she feels a hand holding her arm...and pulling her slowly.

"Subaru!" She says, recognizing the person that saved her.

The girl is removed from inside the building and put above the roof, in a more secure part...at least for some time. This Subaru was an young woman, appearing to be in her 20's or even less, with long dark hair in a ponytail and eyes of an intense red. She weared a collant made of leather under a strange cloth with the Autonoe's city emblem.

"You're incredible Subaru! You saved my life!" She says smiling, hugging the lady. This smiles lightly.

Then Subaru backs off a moment from the girl and goes toward the hole from where she pulled her.

"Subaru where're you going?" The girl asks.

The lady makes a signal with her hand pointing to the hole.

"..." She comes closer from the dark haired lady and grabs her hand. "There's no one else here...let's go..."

Subaru remain still during some seconds, staring at the girl without showing any different reaction. Then she looks in the direction of the hole again for some time and takes the girl in her arms, running fast, jumping and flying to somewhere far away, to safety...

Inside the building...Julian Was trapped in the rocks and rubbles...

Between his eyes that watched the hole above, runned some blood, little before of the entire roof falls apart...and Everything darkens...

**END OF FLASHBACK**

"Julian? Hey Julian, wake up! Wake up man"  
"Ahn...?"

The boy found himself back to the collctive with his friend Elliot. The last was shaking his shoulder, trying to make him come back to his senses.

"Are we there yet?"

"Yes...Heh, you were so lost in your thoughts that didn't perceived the time passing by." Elliot says on his foot already.

"Looks like it...Well, let's go..." He says rising but this time he had a sadder expression in his face.

"Hum...Thinking about her again?"

"Yeah..." The boy confirms. "No matter how hard I try I can't forget her..."

"Yup, that's a problem." Speaks Elliot, following Julian until the collective's exit. "That girl isn't in the same level than us pal...You have to let go of her. Besides, she doesn't like you even a little bit, or of any of us...It's a waste from your time thinking about her.She thinks she can step on everybody any time...just because she's the president's daughter...!"

"Yeah, I know all that...But there's no way around it."

Both finally get out from the collective and direct for a big construction ahead from them.

Elliot remains introspective while Julian, by his side, looked to he floor while walking...also lost in thoughts.

"Hum...why don't you go to Mr. Dimitri's house to talk about this new nightmare?" Suggests Elliot, fixing his glasses again.

"...It's a good one." Julian answers. "I think my mother won't care...and it'll clear my mind a little."

Both enter on what would be the great Autonoe's Institute...much bigger then before the terrible accident some years ago.  
Many students and teachers entered the place, walking from one side to another, so big was the number of people in the hall.

Soon both boys enter in one of the many rooms there and go for two classes...While preparing notes and books Julian seemed to organize in his head what he was going to ask for this Mr.Dimitri.

"How I'm going to Mr. Dimitri's place today, I'm going to ask a little more about the Tecnomages and nanotechnology...there's a lot of things I still don't understand."

"I studied some of Autonoe's history..." Elliot speaks putting some books over the class. "...but...is it true that Mr. Dimitri is Autonoe's first Tecnomage?"

"Yeah it is." Julian confirms. "He can do some amazing stuff! Some look like Elencia's magic, the other continent."

"Wow..." Elliot heard it all impressed.

"Actually...I can think of just one person with equal or greater power than his."

"...You're talking of the president's bodyguard, Subaru?"

Before that Julian could answer people start to enter the classroom and take their places. Next, one of the teachers come in putting several books and files above his desk.

"Very well students open your books in page 507. We have a lot to do today..."

**-/-**

The setting changes for a great hallway held by great columns. Everything with an astounishing decoration, portraiting nobility. This was the Great Palace, where lived the family of the president of the Autonoe's republic...

Near there a door opens, making a loud creaking noise. Inside a man dressed socially walks to the hallway, but, after some steps he stops and starts coughing strongly.

"Mr. Luchenko...Are you sure everything's alright?" Speaks a woman dressed like a maid exiting the room, followed by two others, a man and another woman.

"Cough..Hummrumm!" He forces his throat and gives light blows in his chest. "I already feel better than yesterday, don't worry. It won't be a simple coughing fit that will stop me from going to that important meeting."

"Sir, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, it will affect your health..." speaks one of the employes.

"Nothing bad will happen." He says a little before starting coughing again, harder this time.

While coughing Luchenko makes a signal for the employes. soon, some kind of pill is given to him and he swallows it in a hurry between one cough and another.

Suddenly getting better, he takes a deep breath.

"The medicine will last for some time." He says. "What will give me plenty of time for that meeting without any big problems.  
But changing the subject, where is my daughter?"

"No need to worry sir, she is with Subaru in the palace's garden."

"Good." Says Luchenko, visibly relieved. "If she is with Subaru I don't have to worry about her."

"...It's about me?"

Immeadiately, someone enters the hallway followed by the always serious Subaru. She was the same girl that participated in what happened in the Institute some time ago.But now she was wearing a distinct cloth, with several shades of red and white...like a real princess. An emblem of Autonoe appeared in both shoulders, embroidered in the fabric.

Subaru remained on her side, silent.

"I just asked them where were you Anna." Luchenko speaks in reference to his daughter. "I'll have to go to another important meeting and I would like you not to go far from the palace."

"As you wish dad." She says with a weird smile. "But where is this meeting?"

"Well...it's far away from here, in a place next to Elencia. It's just a business meeting."

Anna shows a distrutful look. It was obvious to her that her father didn't want to say where he was really going, even if she had a guess.

"Very well dad, but leaving like that won't be bad for your health?"

"I'm a stubborn man Anna. You know better than anyone that I won't die so early because of some coughing fit. I'll be back soon, don't worry about that." Luchenko approaches her and kisses her cheek. "It's better that I hurry or I'll be late.  
Until tonight Anna. Take care of her for me Subaru alright?". Luchenko says. Subaru just nods with her head. She observes Luchenko as he goes to the hallway's exit. Anna does the same, but with a "doesn't matter" expression in her face.

Already far from any others, Anna frowns as she walks with Subaru in the palace's surroudings.

"Dad always hides when he's going to meet those three idiots! I can't stand it!" she says. "Specially because I wanted so much that they made more gifts for me, but they insist in refusing! I'm so angry!"

Subaru remains quiet, just listening.

"Hum...but who knows if they aren't in a good humour? Maybe even accepting to do as I want... Hum...let's go subaru."

Anna and her companion climb some stairs and arrive in one of the top floors of the huge Autonoe's palace. A imponent metal door can be seen there.

"Maybe I can even convince them to do more things for me!" She says, entering as the door opens itself.

Inside the room there wasn't nothing besides some kind of mirror (or screen) in the opposite wall to the door and a chair in front of it.

Anna goes to the chair and stretches ther fingers, like if getting ready for something. Subaru remains silent at the door.

The girl closes her eyes and focus. In the screen a image starts to appear and soon shows a man, sitting in a chair, with his back for Anna. He works with several mechanical and eletrical devices in a table, inside some sort of laboratory.

Before she says something the man, still sitting without facing her, speaks at the same that connects two devices.

"What do you want this time Anna?" he says, showing fadigue in his voice.

"I know my father is going there." She says smiling. "But that's not what I want to talk about, I want to talk about the offer i made you to build some others, ahn, how do you say, Tecnomages for me, like Subaru."

The man rises and turns, removing next the little glasses he used to protect his eyes from the sparks.

"Anna, I already told you a thousand times! You have to stop with your crazy will of owning tecnomages like if they were toys! Besides that..." he continues. "...Subaru is more than enough and is designed especially for you."

"I know, I like Subaru a lot." She says. The Tecnomage keeps watching without mentioning any word. "But I..."

"Then as you like her, there's no reason to disturb me. Now I need to get back to work."

"Wait!"

The conction is shut down and the image vanishes from the screen.

Quite angry, Anna rises from the chair and with closed fists, starts to think and speak alone, cursing the man she had just talked to.

"They all will pay for it! They don't want to hear me? They don't want to grant the requests from the city's princess? Then they will pay a high cost! Something I should have done a long time ago..." She speaks, looking from side to side. "No one turns against me! No one!"

"Excuse me?" At the door, next to Subaru, another person appears. A beautiful, statuesque woman, with brown skin and long ondulated white hair. She weared a completely red dress and had eyes also red, resembling those of Subaru. This last looks at the newcomer seriously, while the woman remains indifferent to the Tecnomage. Soon, she keeps speaking. "Miss Anna, you know very well that your father doesn't like when you uses his things." she says smiling in a sweet tone.

"Ahn, It's okay rebecca, I'm leaving..."

The girl then directs for outside the room followed soon after by the woman in red. Subaru leaves after and watches both,  
soon following them.

**-/-**

Pasiphae...

A planet with basically three continents.

In one of them, Elencia, everything is connected to magic...their whole lifes swirls around magic.

In the second continent, Autonoe, in which we live, no one has magic powers, but advanced technology is available and machines are the basis of our progress. The last continent, Thrymir, is inhabited by a very old race, which lives isolated and keeps almost no contact.

"I wanted to know who lives there." Julian speaks to himself.

Still with the contents of his class in the head, the student had just exited the collctive he took and went to a nearby telephone booth. He quickly takes the device and press some buttons.

Next, in a small liquid cristal screen a image appears.

"Are you there mom?"

"Hey honey! Where are you?" Speaks the woman to the young man.

"I'm going until Mr. Dimitri's house okay? I'll be arriving somewhat later."

"Hum..." The young man's mother undoes the smile she had on her face. She feels bothered for a moment when hearing in the name of this Dimitri.

"Ahn, it's okay mom?"

"Oh, yes Julian, yes...But what are you'll be doing there?"

"I'm going to speak about the new nightmare that I had and can't remember."

"Oh well, so try not to arrive home late okay?"

"Hehe, okay mom I'll let you know when I get there. Kisses, I'm going."

"Come back soon!" She says, a moment before the call ends.

The boys walks by the street in direction to the other side of the city's suburb. While walking, tried to guess what Dimitri would have to say about the nightmare.

Some minutes later Julian approaches of a big house in a quiet street. He perceives four vehicles parked in front of it.  
Four men in black, dressed like bodyguards, watch the cars and the house.

"Wow...looks like they have guests today." Says the boy, while going to the house's gate.

The four big guards follow the boy with their eyes, under the sunglasses they used. Adding to Julian's surprise, none of them blocks his way to the interphone. Still uneasy, the boy pushes the bell and soon after the gate emits a loud noise and opens.

Leaving security behind, he goes until the frontdoor and rise of the hands to knock, but the door moves first.

"Oh, you must be the famous Julian, isn't?"

"...Ahn, yes that's me. Is Mr. Dimitri here?"

In front of the boy was no one less than the Autonoe's president, Luchenko. Naturally he doesn't recognizes him as such, as the president hardly appears in public view for security reasons. Especially for the suburb's population...

"I'm here Julian. Seems like you thought in paying me a visit today, isn't?" Speaks a second man, getting out from the house and going to the door. He weared a white cloth, resembling that of scientists. he has a very long hair, black and smooth.  
Actually, he was the same man that spoke with Anna previously. "Coincidently right when my other visit is on his way out."

"It's a pleasure to meet you young Julian. Your friend Dimitri spoke good things of you." says Luchenko.

"It's a pleasure mr..."

"Julian this is..."

"Only a friend!" Luchenko says, interrupting Dimitri as he smiles to the boy. "Only an old friend who decided to stop by and pay a visit! Hehehe!"

"...well, nice to meet you anyway." He completes.

"The pleasure is all mine. I should go now, you have much to talk." He says, already going to the front gate. "Excuse me yes?"

Luchenko then leaves. Julian and Dimitri just see he entering one of the vehicles and leaving with his security.

"Wow, he must someone pretty important!" Julian says.

"Well, a little bit." Dimitri answers at the door "Let's come in Julian alright?"

"Yes thank you sir."

Both enter the place and the door closes.

**-/-**

What appeared to be a mansion was in fact a big lab, crowed with a broad group of apparutus and machines. several tools could also be found above one of the tables that ocuppied the hall.

"So young man." The man says, sitting in front of the table and finishing the welding of an alloy with a device that released small sparks. "What brings you here?"

"Well..." Julain sits in a chair on the other side of the table. "...I'll go straight to business Mr. Dimitri, I had another of those nightmares."

"hum."

"I suddenly woke up at dawn and the worst is that I can't remember anything!"

"Hum." Dimitri stops his work and slowly puts his tool over the table, removing his protection goggles. "If I'm not mistaken that been happening a while already. But tell me, what do you think may be causing this?"

"Well, there's something...something inside of me that tells me this may have something to do with it." he rises the right forearm, showing it to Dimitri.

"..." The man gets up and slowly walks trough the lab, with his hands on his back, deep in thought. "You have the right to know and because of that, I won't hide anything. It's quite possible that these nightmares be one of the side effects that the delicate nanotechnological mecanism implanted in your body might cause."

"sir." the boy says anxious. "Could you explain me about nanotechnology? It's that I wanted to understand better what's inside of me."

"it's natural..." Dimitri streches the arm in the direction of one table and, like magic, a big book above it floats until his hand! That doesn't amazes Julian much, for he had seen dimitri doing things really breathtaking before. "Nanotechnology is a science created by us Autonoe's residents a long time ago. you must know very well julian that us, unlike Elencia's people, can't use real magic. In Elencia everything is surrounded by an aura of mysticism.

Dimitri opens the book and quickly watches some of its content.

We from Autonoe on the other side, we have a highly evolved technology. This technology must always be used in benefit of the people. Nanotechnology is an example of that, for it was created in the beginning to help in heavy and hard work because of its capacity to create effects...somewhat unique."

"Are you referring to this 'unnatural' magic?" The boy asks.

"Precisely." the man continues. "what actually happens is that hundreds of thousands of nanorobots surround the devices imbued with nanotechnology."

"ro-robots?" the boy says surprised.

"Exactly. All the effects you know that resembles magic are actually created by these small machines that exist in the mecanisms that control them. It was used to carry heavy weights many years ago. But after it began to be used in the replacement of limbs and vital organs it was discovered that the pacient could use the nanorobots as he wanted to"  
He sits again in the chair, puts the book over the table and smiles. "...hehe, of course that some instruction and practice are necessary."

"It's amazing..." Julian said, looking at his right arm...and to his left leg. "I would never imagine these robots around me...incredible. Do you think it may have something to do with...?"

"Quite possible." Dimitri continues. "In some recent researches we discovered that the nanorobots when used in people feed on a small fraction of the individual's mental energy. We haven't yet discovered if that causes any damage to the person, but perhaps influences in his dreams."

"You mean the nanorobots are responsible for these nightmares?"

"Very likely."

"But why are they doing that?"

"Like I said, perhaps it's just a side effect of what feeds them." He says as he opens the book again, seeing some pages.  
"...Or perhaps they are trying to say something..."

"Huh?"

In this exact moment a third person enters. a woman dressed just like Dimitri, with a ponytail and a pair of glasses in his face writting something in a notepad in her hands.

"Julian, what a surprise having you here! How are you?" She says without removing her eyes from the notes.

"I'm fine miss Alexis." The boy says, greeting her. "I just stopped by to talk a little with the mr. Dimitri."

"Yes, I can see that. I'm sorry by interrupting the conversation. I came to get some notes I left somewhere around here."

"You're not disturbing nothing Alexis. I was just talking with Julian about nanotechnology." Dimitri explains. "  
"In fact, I was going to invite him to take a coffee. Why don't you join us and take a break?"

"Thank you, but no mr. Dimitri!" Julain says rising from the chair. "I'm grateful for the invitation, but should be going now. I promised my mom I wouldn't arrive at home late."

"Oh too bad...Just because I would accept." Alexis says smiling. "You really can't stay a little more?"

"Hehehe I'm sorry...but I really can't. Maybe next time."

"Well, in this case I'll escort until the door, yes?" Dimitri says, rising from his chair. "But before that tell me Julian,  
how is your mother?"

"She is fine, but I think she didn't liked the idea of me coming here very much..."

"It's understandable." He says, his smile remaining, while escorting the boy to the door. "Even so, tell her that we sent a hug, okay?"

"Sure, I'll tell!" The boy says as Dimitri opens the door. Julian suddenly stops, turning to face Dimitri. "ahn, Just one more question...and mr. Keinzer, where is he? I thought I would see him here today."

"He's taking a nap!" Alexis says from the lab. "He had plenty of nightmares last night and didn't slept very well."

"Nightmares...?" Julian questions, looking at Dimitri. "By any chance mr. Keinzer has the same problem than me?"

"Mr. Keinzer's reason is quite different, Julian." Dimitri says putting his hand over the boy's shoulder. "But about you,  
take care and try to remember what happens in these nightmares, okay? It may be tough in hte beginning, but if you try a little harder you'll be able to remind something."

"Okay mr. Dimitri. Thanks and until next time!"

The boy opens the front gate and runs until the collective's point, where he could get one to leave for his home. Dimitri watched him going away...slowly undoing the smile he kept in his face.

"Uoohhh..." a man enters the room, yawning and with very noticeable bags under his eyes. With ruffled hair and messed clothes, he sits in one of the chairs.

"Well so you woke up?" Alexis asks, still in the lab. "So, fell any better?"

"A little bit..." He says, yawning again. "But's still difficult to manage some sleep. Who was here right now? I heard others' voices besides yours."

"It was Luchenko." Dimitri says, closing the door and approaching his friend with his hands in his pockets. "And julian as well."

"Oh, the boy came here?" He says, yawning a third time. "A shame I was so tired, I wish I was able to speak with him. He's a nice guy."

"Yeah..." Alexis stops for a moment of taking notes and becomes toughtful, showing in her face some sorrow. A heavy silence takes place. Keinzer was with his hand being held with one of his hands, trying not to sleep right there; Alexis writing something in the notepad, in deep thoughts and Dimitri satnding with his hands in his pockets, silent and with a serious expression.

"It's gonna be tomorrow?" Keinzer asks.

"yes." Dimitri answers, still serious.

"I still think it's unfair what we're going to do with this boy Dimitri." Alexis says.

"I hope you don't think I don't." He says, going to a closet. "But the truth is that if we don't do it everything is going to be destroyed..."

"Yes." Keinzer rubs his eyes trying not to sleep as he talked. "He won't stop until we do what he wants. We don't have any other way."

"Precisely." Dimitri comes back from the closet with some folded papers and puts it above the table. The others two scientists just watch. "Everything we can do now is wait..."

In the papers, written in big black letters, 'G.E.N.E.S.I.S. Project' could be read...

**-/-**

Late at night...aproximately eleven pm.

Luchenko enters silently and calmly in his quarters. His tiredness was overwhelming and he needed to rest urgently.

He takes off his clothes between one cough and another, next dressing something more apropriated to sleep. He goes to the bed and sits to remove his shoes.

He spends some time pondering about everything he has done so far and about the visit to Dimitri some hours ago.

Tired, he takes in his hands a small picture frame that seemeed to watch him above the closet at the bed's side.

"Oh dear...how I miss you." He says, passing his fingers gently in the picture. "I hope that you forgive me one day...but it is for everybody's well-being...cough!...cough!"

The coughing seems to get worst suddenly, like earlier. Quickly he puts the picture above the closet and searches it for the pillshe always took in these ocassions.

But...he feels a weight in his chest when he sees nothing inside! Not a sign of the medicine!

Coughing louder, he goes to the door...and gets surprised when it doesn't opens. He pulls with all of his strentgh, in vain.  
Locked!

He starts to feel the taste of blood in his mouth, while his muscles start to tremble. he knocks desesperately in the door,  
in the hope of someone listens. It was getting harder to breathe...he was drowning in his own blood!

Nobody comes to check on him and he walks trembling until the window...falling in the way. Luchenko remains scattered in the floor, feeling his throat tighten more and more...and blood expeled at each cough.

Soon it all starts to get dark, and last thing he's able to see is the window, less than a meter from his hand...

**-/-**

**Continues...**

**Translator notes:** _Thanks to everybody that read until here. It proves that my english is understandable, I think.  
I ask that besides reviewing the history, you guys also criticize my grammar, spelling and things like that so I can keep improving, okay? Until the next chapter._


	2. Chapter 2

Neverending War...

Chapter 2 - Fatalities

"...Arhg!"

Gasping and scaried, Julian wakes up after another nightmare...even more terrifyning than the last one, if possible...

He rises the sheets and sits in bed, recomposing himself while drying the small drops of sweat in his forehead so that he could think. This time everything was becoming clear.

The images were forming little by little in his mind, fast and distorted. More precisely distorted faces.  
He remembered being in a big crowd, all terribly distorted and disfigurated...while incandescent flames fell in them,  
desfigurating them even further...

All that could be heard were all the screams and desesperation calling for his name, calling for help.

"Finally..." He says, recomposing himself. "I managed to remember what was scaring me so much!I have to tell this to mr. Dimitri!"

He stands up quickly and goes to the bathroom so he could get ready. But he stops brusquely when hearing a very peculiar sound coming from outside the house.

"But...what's that?" He thinks with himself, going to the bedroom's window and opening it. Then he sees the strong rain that fell in Autonoe. In the street ahead small streams were forming, going directly to the culverts because of the rain's intensity. A caractheristic smell of umid soil invades the place. "Weird, it's not even the right season."

Julian looks at a small calendar with several marks ink-made in some dates.

Actually, there was no rain in Autonoe, at least, not like in Earth. This natural phenomenon was so rare that dates predicted by scientists were possible.

And it wasn't one of these dates...On the contrary, it was very far of such time.

"Mom?" Julian speaks, calling her, going to the livingroom. "You saw what an odd thing? This rain so strong and out of place!  
Isn't that wei..." The boy stops talking when he perceives the worried look in his mother's face, paying attention to the television device, tuned on some kind of news. "Mom, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Julian..." She says. Without taking off the look in her face, she points to the screen. The young man pays attention.

"We stand here, in front to Autonoe's Palace where today, about two am, passed away the president of Autonoe's republic,  
Luchenko." A woman says on the screen, with a microphone and a dark suit. In the back the rain could be seen falling in the Palace's gardens as well as many others reporters. "The president had been suffering for some time now of an acute pulmonar degeneration, that claimed his life today at dawn."

"Wow..." Julian gets surprised with what he listens. The Autonoe's president, dead! Actually, despite the surprise, that has little real impact over him because Luchenko never showed his face to the public. Order from the complicated method of Autonoe's government. "And to think that we never had the chance to know him. What a loss..."

"But he did much for all of us." The boy's mother says. "He gave us much importance, differently from the previous presidents that had their eyes focused just in those that lived in downtown."

"Yeah, I studied a little about him. But not even in the books there were any image of him. I had a certain curiosity to see how he is." He says focusing again in the screen. In this very moment he sees something that grabs all of his attention.  
The same reporter, as many others, interviewed Anna...

The girl can barely speak to the reporters because of her shock, with her loyal guard Subaru next to her.

For some moments Julian had forgotten that the republic's president was the father of the girl for which he dedicated so much love...and still dedicates, even if against his will.

She seemed more beautiful after so much time far away from him. Despite of that seeing her remembered him of that dreadful day in which she left him alone in that place. Alone, with no one to rescue him, while she went away in safety.  
Alone, to die...

"Ahn...but what am I doing?" The boy speaks to himself, shaking his head. "That's not the time to think about that. She must be very shaken with her father's death. I know because I think it would be the same for me if my mom died." He thinks.

The young man's mother observes the attention her son shows to the girl in the screen.

"Julian?"

"Yes mom?"

"Do you by any chance know this girl?"

"...Why do you ask?"

"I noticed the way you look her. Like if you had seen her before." She says smiling a little. "Am I right?"

"No mom..." He continues. "She just reminded me of someone I knew... Nothing else."

"Hum..." Julian keeps looking straight to the screen while his mother gets a little suspicious. Soon the reporter spoke again.

"The president's burial will be realized exactly at midday. Even with the unexpected time in our town. This is a convocation for all Autonoe's citizens to pay a last homage for Luchenko."

"Are we going mom?"

"Of course my son. Is our duty as citizens go to our president's burial. Unless you don't want to go there..."

"No, no! I'll scort you."

The mother smiles and hugs her son like if touching the most precious thing in her life. The boy returns the gesture.  
thoughful.

And the rain keeps falling...

Not far from there, in a small lab, there was another screen tuned in the tragic news of that day. Under the strong sound of the rain outside, Keinzer watched the reporter speak, sitting in one of the chairs and holding a coup with a hot drink,  
possibly coffee.

"Yaaawn!" Another person speaks, yawning as she enters the room. "Hi Keinzer."

"Hi Alexis..." He says without taking his eyes from the screen.

"Hmmmm..." Streching her arms' muscles, she approaches Keinzer. "What's going on?"

He points to the screen in silence and drinks a little. Alexis pays attention to what the reporter spoke. Something about a burial or anything like that.

"But...who died?"

"...Luchenko."

"What!" She says shocked. "But how! He came here yesterday to speak with Dimitri and seemed so well!"

"If you say so." Keinzer says in a dry voice, putting the coup over the table. "Things are gonna get tougher with Luchenko dead."

The scientist rubs her eyes and watch the rain outside like if already understanding what it was all about. She watched the drops falling in the glass of one of the windows, thoughtful and with sad eyes.

"Keinzer..."

"Yes?"

"When is he showing himself?"

The scientist sighs and takes the coup in his hands again, shortly before speaking.

"In a few hours, probally on the late afternoon." He answers, taking another sip.

"I hope they stay alright." She says when sitting in another chair there. Keinzer remains watching the screen, in silence.  
"And...where is Dimitri?"

"When I woke up I didn't found him here. Possibly he heard the news about Luchenko's death before us and went to the palace."

"Highly likely. How very typical of him..."

"And how about you?" Says Keinzer, putting some papers over the table.

"What about me?"

"You dreamed with 'him', didn't you?"

"By the look in your face I think I'm right."

Alexis had an clear look of tiredness in her face. A night really restless. Her hair was more ruffled than normal and big bags were under her eyes.

"Yes I dreamt with him..." She says, laying her head in her arms over the table. "It was horrible. I couldn't close my eyes all night, that's killing me!"

"I noticed..."

"But even if I hadn't dreamt I'm too much nervous already with everything that happened and will happen to go back to sleep..."

"Calm down." She says. "Everything we can do now is wait..."

After that, she slowly turns her head and resumes watching the rain...

Between the huge columns of the government's palace dozens of voices could be heard. A great crowd made of ministers and others politicians could be seen in the place as the first ones to see the president's body, kept locked in a big coffin in the center of the great hall. The air had and thick and heavy feeling.

Exatamente na entrada do palácio, um aglomerado de pessoas tenta de todas as formas chegar a uma única que estava ali. Eram dezenas de repórteres e câmeras, tentando conseguir nem que fosse uma pequena palavra da adorável filha do presidente, Anna. Esta, encontrava-se em prantos, limpando as lágrimas com um lenço de seda branco enquanto Subaru a acompanhava ao seu lado, praticamente estática e, talvez pela primeira vez, com uma expressão pensativa, enquanto olhava para Anna.  
Exactly in the palace's exit people agglomerated, a greta number of reporters and cameras trying to get even a small word from the lovely president daughter, Anna.Sorrow was written in her face as she dried the tears with a white handkerchief made of silk. Subaru was right next to her,pratically paralyzed, and perhaps for the first time with a thoughful expression as she looked at Anna.

"Miss, please, tell us when you knew your father passed away?"

"Were you the first to find the body of our deceased president?"

"How are you reacting to all this?"

"...sob...I'm sorry but...sob...I can't talk about my father anymore. I feel a terrible pain in my chest when I remember him, so happy,just a few days ago. With your excuse gentlemen..." She says, turning her back to the reporters and going inside the palace. They ask her to stay a little more for they had more questions. But Subaru puts herself between them and the princess, firm and with a serious expression.

The reporters back off when they notice that she isn't going back and stay under the strong rain, watching any movement in the palace.

Inside, Anna was complimented by all the people and important politicians by which she passed. Subaru tags behind, careful,  
but still thoughful and somewhat 'distant'.

"Princess Anna, I met your father some time ago. I'm really sorry, he was a good person and very respected." A man in aristocratic clothes says to Anna.

"Thank you sir...sob..."

"My dear Anna, as one of the Autonoe's ministers, I would like to give you my deepest regrets." Another man says, showing a monoglass in the right eye, approaching from the girl.

"Thank you very much sir...sob...I'm sure that, whenever my father is, he will be watching us."

Anna stay a few more minutes speaking with some important politicians and people there and soon realizes that Subaru wasn't behind her as usual.

Surprised, she rolls her eyes quickly in the hall searching the Tecnomage and portraiting a frown when seeing the same in a corner of the hall, going somewhere else.

"subaru!" Anna says, running to her.

"..." The Tecnomage stops right away and turns to the girl.

"What does that means? You should be taking care of me as you always does! Remember that you can't leave unless I give you orders for that."

"Let's go right now! We have to leave. I can't stand anymore all this people saying they're sorry!"

Without saying anything Subaru nods and returns to follow Anna, with a very distant look in her eyes.

Soon both climb one of the palace's stairs and enter in the great and luxurious Anna's bedroom. She locks the door and sits in front of a big mirror, loosening her hair and puting a wet cloth in her face to refresh her. Subaru stands watching Anna,  
with her back to the door.

"Argh! I can't stand it! Having to cry like that ruins all my makeup! I hate that!" She says dryly, drying the tears.

Even hearing Anna speaking like this doesn't affects Subaru. On the contrary, it seedmed like her attention was somewhere else. The girl notices that Subaru hadn't even heard what she said.

"Subaru, what's the matter with you today? Am I mistaken or you aren't listening what I say?"

"..." The Tecnomage fits back the girl with a serious expression.

"I don't understand you sometimes. You know, I think you're getting old. Maybe you're an old model, I don't know. Anyway, That's one of the reasons for which I want That those stubborn scientists build some more like you and even upgraded.  
You understand me, don't you Subaru?"

The Tecnomage just listens. It was impossible to know if she reacted negatively to anna's actions, because Subaru never showed a different expression of the one she had now in her face. Rare were the times she smiled(and these were just a small lift in the corner of her mouth) or got angry(only a movement of her eyebrowns. And that was when Anna was threatened...).

After cleaning her face and a few touches in her makeup the girl stands up, ready once again. But before that she goes to the big window in her room and opens the curtains. Trough the glass, she sees the rain falling outside, suspicious. She knew it wasn't the time for such strong rain...

"Miss Anna?" Someone says outside the door. "More reporters came. They are calling for you, wanting to ask questions."

"Oh, good! Tell them that I'll there shortly!" She says excited.

Subaru notices the girl's enthusiasm... But only opens the door for her pass through.

Both then go downstairs and to the palace's entrance. Now there were a lot more reporters and soon as she comes closer several microphones literally fly next to her mouth.

"Miss Anna! A question please!"

"Miss! A word to the press!"

"Here Miss please!"

"Calm down everybody please. I'll speak with all of you...one at a time." She says smiling. "You first."

The girl points one of the reporters posted there and he quickly speaks, anxious for an answer.

"Miss Anna. with president Luchenko's death, what's the fate of Autonoe's government?"

"Well, now I'm legally the responsible of the govern of our dear Autonoe. Of course, it isn't necessary to say that I'll make my father's legacy hold on for the years to come."

"...About the government, there's no reason to worry about." A feminine voice speaks behind Anna.

The surprised girl turns around and sees one of her servant ladys, Rebecca(the woman that previously appeared in the comunication's room).

"Rebecca...?" Anna says, not believing what she saw.

"And you would be...?" The reporter asks.

"I'm a faithful friend of princess Anna gentleman. There's no one better suited than me to say that Anna will be an excellent president for our nation! And surely will count with my total support!"

"..." Anna was speechless...Didn't knew what to say or how to react before that.

"Miss, do you already have a goal for your government?" The reporter asks Anna. She is once again interrupted by Rebecca.

"Princess Anna is a resilient person that fights with all of her strength for the nation's objectives. In other words,  
she's someone that does everything to reach her ideals! Anything..."

Anna and Rebecca fit each other for a moment, the second smiling in a ironic(or cynical) way. Anna couldn't speak, just answer with a look of loathing at rebecca because, apparently, she knew everything about Luchenko's death. It would be too dangerous to speak something unpleasant in front of so many cameras...

A little far, no one, even Anna, had seen that Subaru wasn't near the main entrance anymore.

She was now in front of the big door for the president's room with the same thoughful look of before.

Taking care for that nobody noticed her presence she opens the room's door and enter, closing the door behind her...

She slowly approaches the bed, or, to be more precise, the desk next to it and takes in her hands the pictureframe who were there sometime already.

While looking at the photo with a somewhat sad expression, she starts remembering some things...probally what was making her so distracted...

FLASHBACK

"...And that is why I want you to keep an eye on Anna during my travel Subaru. You're the person I trust the most here and because of that I leave her in your hands."

Luchenko puts many clothes and items in several suitcases. He would pass some time out.

Near him, in the bedrrom, was Subaru next to the door, watching the president packing while noding in answer to the last order.

After packing everything he closes the ziper and get ready to leave the bedroom but momentaneously stops when remembering something.

"Huh...Almost forgot." He gets the picture above the desk and sits in the bed, passing his fingers through the photo and smiling. "My dear...how I wish you were still here living by my side."

Subaru just watched.

"How I miss you..." Luchenko stands with the pictureframe in hands and starts thinking in some things. Things that make him smile. "There's something I never told you Subaru..."

"...You know as well as I do that my wife isn't among us anymore. And also knows very well that...I loved her very much."

Subaru smiles...and says an 'yes' with her head.

"You know Subaru...Your creator, Dimitri, is a big friend of mine. A childhood friend, I must say. When he created you for our family he didn't made only a bodyguard for us, but someone very special." He says, putting one hand in the Tecnomage's shoulder.

"..." Subaru fits the president intensly, with shining wide eyes...

"Did you knew that..." He walks backwards with his hands beside him while speaking. "...Dimitri created you in the spitting image of my dear wife?"

"yes.." He says still smiling. "You're identical to her, just equal...Even your beauty is like hers..."

"..." Subaru blushes a little, still looking at Luchenko.

"But I don't want you to think that is the resemblance that makes you special to me." He says coming closer to the Tecnomage.  
"You are part of our family since you were created. Takes care of my daughter as no one else and I feel safe with you near her. I'm telling you all this because I was trying to think in a way to thank you...and this was the only one I found."

Subaru stares in a different way at luchenko. While he exhibits a smile, she shows eyes full of kindness and cheeks red as a tomato.

Subaru comes closer and, very red, kiss the president's lips lightly, without taking her eyes off his. Luchenko remains frozen, just watching what she was doing and how gracious was the way she came up to the edge of her feet so she could reach his mouth.

After a few seconds she parts off with a small 'pop', quite red. She looked at him as if didn't knew what she was doing,  
even if blushing that much.

"Subaru, what was that?" He asks smiling as before.

"Thank you..." He follows. "...You're trying to make me happy Subaru. But...I'm already quite happy with my daughter and with you by our side and, with my wife..." He says, always with a friendly and relaxed smile in his face. The Tecnomage sees how much that man was devoted to his woman...even after her death...

"Well! I think I have to go now!" He says, grabbing two of the suitcases. "Give me a hand, will you?"

She gets all the remaining 10 suitcases right away and follows Luchenko. Both exit the room and go towards the palace's exit. There a transport awaited the president. Two men start to put the baggagge inside the vehicle.

Luchenko opens the door and a little before enter, turns to Subaru.

"There's something else I forgot to tell. You don't look just externally like her...is as much sweet as her."

"...!" Subaru blushes again.

"Until next time...and please, put this back in place, will you? It's very important to me." He says, giving her the pictureframe.

Shortly after the vehicle departs and Subaru spends some seconds watching it fly away...

END OF FLASHBACK

The picture in her hands showed Luchenko next to a young woman IDENTICAL to Subaru. Unless, of course, by the clothes and appearing to be more mature.

Besides that, each detail was exactly the same.

Feeling a light pain in her chest, she removes the photo from the pictureframe and hide it in a small compartment inside her own body. Next she goes out the room, making sure nobody saw her...

A few hours later, a huge crowd could be seen in a open and distinct place. Despite the rain, this place had a layer of transparent metal that prevented any infiltration by the strong water falling down.

It was Autonoe's cemitery. More precisely, the greatest marker in the whole place...

The grave remained open, a sign that president Luchenko's body hadn't been buried yet.

"Julian?"

"Hmm?"

Julian and his mother had just arrived in the great cemitery. It was the first time both saw so many people gathered together, for even the city's center hadn't been so crowded.

The boy seemed to search someone in the crowd, until his mother perceives this and calls his attention.

"Who are you expecting to find? You won't stop looking everywhere..."

"Eh, sorry mom, is that I was thinking if mr. Dimitri wouldn't be here. I wanted to talk with him."

"The nightmares?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, if we see him, we can talk with him. I'll let you know if I see him around."

"Okay, thanks mom." The boy says while kissing her face.

"Look what a coincidence..."

"Ah, Elliot!"

Julian whirls around as soon as he hears someone speaking behind him and sees his friend from the Institute, followed by a mature woman, very probably his mother.

After exchanging greetings the boys start talking with eachother while both women do the same.

More people start coming.

"It's a pity that all this happened. We never got to know him..."

"Yeah..." Julian agrees. "I said the same to my mother. Autonoe's government is a weird one. Okay, it's for the president's safety, but, coming to the point where us,the people living here can't see who he is...it's very strange to say the least."

"And for who it isn't?" Elliot completes. Crossing his arms and looking up, he watches the strong rain flowing in the metalic dome covering the graveyard. "Weirder than that, just this rain out of season."

"Yes, it seems like everything planned to start at the same time."

"But changing the subject, how was your visit to mr. Dimitri?"

"Oh yeah! I told him about my problem and everything he said was to make an effort and try to remember what these nightmares showed. He also said that's very likely that it be an side effect of my biomechanical parts. And he explained me about nanotechnology as well."

"Wow, so the visit was worth it!"

"Definitely."

"And...did you dreamt again?"

"This very night. With some effort, this time I could hold on some images from it in my mind."

"Great! So you have to talk with Dimitri again as fast as you can!"

"It's...just that today that's going to be a little hard..." Julain says, looking to his sides and at the peoples in the funeral.

"Point taken, and now that you mentioned it..."

Elliot points at the graveyard's entrance where a slow vehicle could be seen. The people clear the way and remain silent when the vehicle that carried the president's coffin passed. The boys and their mothers stay make a line side by side, with their heads low and eyes closed in respect.

"...Was thinking something..." Elliot whispers.

"...What...?"

"What's gonna happen to Autonoe's government without any president?"

"Maybe they'll pass the job to the president's..."

Next, six men in suits remove the coffin from the car and carry it slowly to a big pedestal...At the same time, others people appear with instruments at its sides and, as soon as the coffin is lowered, Autonoe's hymn starts to be played. All focus on the music.

A great double line starts to be formed while the hymn is played. People passed by one by one next to the coffin, to see the president for the first, and last time...

About five minutes later, Elliot and his mother watch the president. The boy takes a serious look at the body, without any real emotion for it was of someone unknown to him. The boy's mother makes the same, allowing Julian and his mother to see it soon after.

Julian's mother is overcome by emotion when seeing the body and can't avoid some tears, even if never having seen the president in her life. The boy comforts his omther, caressing her shoulders, in a gesture for her to calm down. Next, Julian approaches the coffin and looks at the body.

"...Julian?" Elliot says, next to his friend, just as the mothers leave the vicinity of the coffin.

The boy remained frozen in front of the body, with the eyes wide from surprise.

"What's the matter with you? Why're you like this?"

"So? Come on, talk it out!"

"The president..."

"What about him?"

"...When I went to mr. Dimitri's house, he was there."

"What?" Elliot gets equally surprised. "That means you met the president!"

"Well, not exactly. When I saw him I had no idea who he was, and he didn't told me, even hiding that was the president, saying he was just a friend of mr. Dimitri." Julian explains.

"But why would he do that?"

"No idea. Maybe for safety..."

"Maybe. But if what you're saying is truth, so you ironically met the president of Autonoe one day before his death!"

"Yeah...seems so..."

"Ok, now let's get outta here, the people are getting impacient with you blocking the line."

Both boys back off from the coffin. Julian still couldn't believe that the man he saw at Dimitri's house was president Luchenko.

But what worried him the most was what he could be doing there..."

"Hi kid, don't you greet anynore?"

Julian and Elliot stop for a moment and see a man come closer. He also weared a black suit like the others.

"Mr. Keinzer!"

"So kid, How are you?" The scientist says coming closer the boys.

"Fine, thank you. That's Elliot, a friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you Elliot." He greets him smiling.

"The pleasure is all mine sir! I've already heard about you sir, you're one of the persons that works with Dimitri, isn't"  
Elliot says, a little excited.

"yes, although our fame normally has something to do with Dimitri..." he says, laughing soon after, just kidding. "Not expected to find you here, between all this people."

"Yeah, just a coincidence. By the way, mr. Dimitri came as well?" Julain asks.

"If he came wasn't with me. I don't see him since today's morning, when I woke up. He must have known what happened before us and came earlier. It's gonna be a problem find him here..." Keinzer says, looking abroad the crowd. there were too many people in the place.

"Damn, I wanted to talk with him. By the way, I have to say something sir, yesterday I went until the lab and spoke with Dimitri and Alexis. But also, the president was there! In person! Do you know by any chances what he was doing there?" The boy asks.

"well, as you must know, I was exhausted yesterday so I slept, or tried to, almost all day. As far as I know Luchenko was a great friend of dimitri and probably was there to speak about matters concerning his projects. It's all I know." He speaks.  
"Actually I didn't knew him well enough to speak for sure."

"I see..."

"May I...make you a question?" Elliot says.

"Of course! Since it be one I might answer, hehehe!"

"...What do you think is that?" The boy asks, gesturing to the sky.

Keinzer looks up and undoes the simle in his face little by little. He thinks for a moment what to say.

"As you know, it isn't the right season, specially such a strong one and that is lasting several hours..."

"Indeed it is... a rare phenomenon!" He says, babbling a little. "...Very rare!"

"We're working to find out the why of this happening so out of time. Don't worry! As soon as we find something, we'll let you know!" He says to the boys.

Julian and elliot both rise their eyebrowns, trying to figure out the reason fot the scientist's...uneasiness, visible to anyone there.

Just a few meters from there, after everybody else had seen the president's body, one more person arrives. Two, actually.

"Dad! Dad! ...sob...Why?"

Anna and Subaru were the last persons to arrive the place and to look one last time their beloved president. The girl supports herself in the transparent coffin, sobbing. Subaru just stays by her side, looking to the body...

"Wow, see who arrived..." Elliot says to Julian and Keinzer.

The three saw the whole scene. In the middle of all the cameras' flashes, Anna rise her yes momentanously and watches the three, focused. So much that stops crying for a moment, staying silent and serious.

"What's she looking at?" Elliot asks.

"At us." Keinzer says seriously. Julain is the only one to remain silent, for he also stared at the girl...

After some seconds staring them, Anna resolves to leave the coffin so it could be buried. Like before, she starts sobbing and making a scene escorted by Subaru.

About a couple hours later the president's body is finally buried. The place slowly gets emptier, and soon only one person remains, staring paciently at the grave.

After some minutes, she departs...

And the strong rain keeps falling...

"I can't accept this! I can't!"

Anna and Subaru, after the burial's cerimony, were back to the palace, more precisely in the bedrrom of the first. She walked from one side to another, quite nervous, with her hands behind her back and thinking.

"So it is that me, Autonoe's princess, won't be paid attention by those scientists when I ask what I want but freely talk with a boy like that...that..." She remains still for a moment, trying to remember the boy's name. "...Humph! That doesn't matter!"

Anna goes to Subaru and stops in front of her, her arms crossed, in a serious way.

"Subaru...listen to me! I want you to go to those scientists' house and see waht's happening overthere. See what this kid knows that I don't know! Humph, if someone like him knows something, I have much more right to know it as well! And one more thing...If you find out that they are scheming against me, kill them, if necessary! That's a order."

"..." Subaru remains still. For some moments she was unsure if she should obbey those absurd orders or not!

"What are you doing frozen! Go! Come on!"

"..." The Tecnomage nods slowly and then goes by the window's room. Surrounded by a strong energy, she flies in direction of the place said by Anna under the strong rain.

Anna watches she moving farther wawy, while lightning starts to croos the sky...

End of afternoon...Almost seven pm...

"Julian...are you sure about going out? With all this rain and lightning..."

"I have to mother...I have to speak with mr. Dimitri about this night's dream. How I didn't found him in the funeral, I'll have to go until the laboratory again."

Julian was getting ready to leave. Quite dressed, with a rain coat and an umbrella. In this very moment the doorbell rings.

"But who could it be at this hour?" The boy's mother asks.

"Ah, It's Elliot mom. We're going together to the lab." He says, opening the door and the umbrella soon after.

"Very well, take care my son, and please don't be late..."

"Don't worry, we're going to be okay." He says smiling. "Bye, I'm going!"

He closes the door behind him and opens the umbrella totally. Besides the rain there was the strong wind and almost took away the object from the young man's hand. Quickly he meets with the friend in the front gate, also dressed up and using an umbrella.

"Argh! Better be going if we don't want to be taken away by all this water!" Elliot says a second before the wind wet his face.

"Hehehe! Let's go then!"

The two go in the lab's direction that wasn't (very) far from Julian's house. The issue was that because of the rain the streets were almost flooded and the colectives weren't working due to failures in the magnetic circuits in the roads.

With water reaching a little above their feet, they keep going despite the violent thunders in the sky. It was the end of the afternoon but it was dark alreay and the only sources of light were the houses and poles nearby.

Minutes of much walking later, both arrive to the lab. Light coming through the windows could be seen.

"...mr. Dimitri!" Julian shouts in the interphone, protecting his eyes from the rain and wind. "It's me, Julian and a friend of mine!"

The gate opens with a snap and they enter.

They close their umbrellas and swirl the door handle, entering as fast as possible.

"Shit, what a rain!" Elliot speaks, closing the door.

For Julian and Elliot's surprise, the place was upside down! Several papers were scattered everywhere and some glasses were broken in the floor, their substances spilled.

There were two bottles of some alcoholic beverage above the table, being one empty and the other fallen down, almost all of its content spilled.

"But...what happened here?" Elliot asks.

"Mr. Dimitri? Mr. Keinzer? Alexis? Anyone?" Julian calls.

From the hallway leading to the scientists' rooms appears one of them soon after of Julian's shouting. Trembling, with a cup of ice in hands and still wearing the same clothes from the funeral, but all crumpled up, Keinzer showed clear signals that he was the one that drank all of it.

"Ju-Julian..is you?" He says while rubbing his eyes.

"Mr. Keinzer! But what happened to you? Why are you drinking like that? And what is going on here?"

"Heh..." The scientist sits in a chair and heps himself with the rest of the liquor. "How about a toast..."

"A toast to what?"

"...The end of the world!"

"...what?"

Julain comes closer and grabs Keinzer's cup, putting it above the table. Then he shakes quickly the scientist so that he came back to himself.

"But what do you mean by that? And where are the others?"

"...They...they...aren't here."

"But why!"

"It got something to do with the rain, isn't?" Elliot risks.

"...Yes..."

"What about the rain? Come on talk!" Julian seemed very nervous.

"...Well..." He rises, visibly calmer. "We found out that this rain isn't a natural phenomenon, but of magical origin."

"What? How's that?"

"There's a thing I haven't said about Luchenko Julian..."

"And what is it? What does he got to do with all?"

"Luchenko was born in Elencia, the other continent of our world Pasiphae. He posessed magical powers, like all people from Elencia..." Keinzer spoke this and the boys just payed attention. Outside, the thunder still roared, while the wind and the rain remained strong. The lamp iluminating the room started to fail, blinking randomly.  
"...From what I could gatter, he participated of the Old Great War against the warlock Loknath..."

"Old Great War?"

"A war between Autonoe and this warlock fought many years ago, a very powerful one, intending to conquer Pasiphae." Elliot speaks. "Autonoe allied with Elencia to defeat him and lock him forever in a forgotten place. At least that's what I remember from my studies."

"Hmm..."

"Exactly... the problem is that..." Keinzer goes to the window and watches the street and rain outside. "...this warlock,  
before being sealed, condemned Autonoe's people to a curse. More precisely, the rain."

"But...what does Luchenko have to do with this?"

Keinzer turns to Julian, deadly serious.

"Luchenko was a powerful mage that, with his magic, neutralized Loknath's curse. But now with his death..." The scientist gulps dry, looking down. "The curse is free..."

"But it's only a rain." Elliot says, not understanding. "It's strong okay, but, can it destroy with all?"

"You don't understand boy!" Keinzer grabs the cup and throws it against the wall, smashing it in pieces! "...The rain is undergoing some kind of transformation...Its ph level is diminishing monstruosly fast!"

"..." Elliot gets impressed and with wide eyes.

"Well, what does it means?" Julian asks.

"...That the rain is going to become some kind of...acid or something like that." Julain finishes.

"It can't be! Is that serious?"

"Do you think I would joke about it? Look!"

Keinzer points the window and the boys move to take a look. Thay notice the vegetables and nearby trees were completely whitered! Even the grass seemed to darken, like if burned.

"...No..." Julian had a look of despair...Now began to understand what were those faces in his nightmare...They were the people of Autonoe under this terrible rain!

"Soon the rain will be so powerful that it will dissolve even bones...and the concrete from buildings and houses. Everything will be destroyed!" Keinzer says, sitting in the chair. "Unless..."

"Unless...?" Julian launches himself at Keinzer, even more deseperated. He grabs his collar with his hands. "Come on! There must be something we can do! If there is any say it! I don't want my mom ending that way! Speak dammit!"

"...The only able to do something is Dimitri, for he is a Tecnomage with very advanced powers. But how you can see, he isn't here right now." The scientist says, releasing himself from the boy's grasp.

The boys take an step backwards...indeed, Dimitri wasn't there, and no one had a power like his.

"..." Elliot, that kept himself thoughful and quiet, rises his head. "...But, Julain also is a Tenomage, isn't?"

"Yes!" Julian shouts. "I'm also a Tecnomage! I may not have the same powers that mr. Dimitri has but I'm willing to anything to save Autonoe and my mother from this fate! Tell me what to do! Pleas!"

"..." Keinzer, still seated, sighs deeply while staring at Julian...

An only vehicle flyed low above the flooded streets of Autonoe. Inside it were Keinzer and both boys with Julian in the front, getting ready, and Elliot in the backseat. Both watch the city being invaded by the water and the very strong wind while Keinzer is focused in driving as fast as possible. the water in the streets is thrown violently to the sides when they pass.

"Where are we going?" Elliot asks.

"For the city's center." Keinzer says without taking off his eyes from the 'road', accelerating.

"And what exactly I have to do?" Julian asks.

"The warlock Loknath stored the curse in a 'recipient-stone' and implanted it in the city's center, underground.  
Remember the incident with the uranium?"

"What about it?"

"All a lie." He says. "What caused that accident was the energy from this 'magical recipient', that has an especific name by the way. It's called 'Limiar'."

"Limiar..." Julian whispers, thinking about the whole uranium history. "I can't believe that was fake...!"

"The government tried to cover it so the population wouldn't be scaried. And because of it, blamed the uranium that we use for industry." He brakes suddenly the vehicle. "We're here. Let's get out, quick!"

The three quickly get off the vehicle. Elliot and Julian watch, perplexed, in the middle of an avenue in the city's center,  
a enormous sphere of shining purple energy. Keinzer opened the vehicle's trunk and retrieved asome kind of metallic rope with a hook.

"here, hold this, quick!" He says to julian, giving the hook. THis holds it and locks it in his clothes, after being sure it was tied tight enough.

"What I have to do after all?"

"You must retrieve from inside that thing the Limiar's fragment expelling all this energy. I'm going to be frank with you, I don't know what might happen, so, if something goes wrong, I'm gonna pull you out!" Keinzeer explains. "It's impossible to me or your friend to enter! That enregy would kill us in seconds!"

"You're really gonna do it? It's very risky!" Elliot says, protecting his eyes from the energy's light.

"..Will. I have to!"

"Great!" Keinzer says, unrolling a little more of the rope. "So go as fast as you can!"

Next, Julian turns and throws himself against the globe of shining light. Elliot holds the rope while Keinzer handed the switch that released or pulled the metallic rope.

The wind in that location is so strong that the boy tied in the rope literally flies in the air, in the energy's direction!

As soon as he collides with it, much lighning can be seen in the sky while he tries to penetrate inside the light, repeling him! He could see with much dificulty a small and shinig core, probally the such Limiar.

"Come on kid...you can do it..." Keinzer says to himself.

Julian forces entrance in the globe but it was impossible! The energy repeled him in such a way that he couldn't get even close from the Limiar. Soon the energy drives him back, launching straight against the wall from a nearby building in the other side of the avenue. 

"Argh!"

"Damm it! We're gonna pick you up Julian!" Elliot shouts.

"NO!" The boy screams.

"...But you're going to die like that!"

"...I...won't..." The boy now had recovered from the blow. Now, in the surface, with water reaching his knee, he tried to force the globe, protecting his face from the rain and wind. "I won't die!"

The boy launches himself again against the globe and punches it hard, forcing his entrance. Once more the globe starts to repel him with a huge strentgh!

"He won't handle it!" Elliot says.

"...Look again kid..." Keinzer says to elliot. He turns to look at his friend.

Suddenly, the boy's right arm exhibits small luminous marks around it, like if expelling energy as well. Next, his arm starts to penetrate slowly in the globe and get closer and closer to the limiar, the core of all that energy.

"You won't knock me down!" He says, while his hair was tossed wildly with the powerful wind inside the globe.

"That's it kid...keep going...not much now!" Keinzer speaks to himself.

Near there...taking cover agains the wind, Subaru watched it all, impressed with the boy's strentgh...that finally touches the Limiar and takes it into his hands, causing a great explosion of light.

"ARGH!"

The light blinds all temporarily and soon after disappears...leaving only Julian in the ground, with the crystal's fragment in his hands. The energy globe vanished.

Elliot runs until the boy and gets him up.

"Man, are you okay? Say something!"

"...Argh...I'm okay." He says a little dozed, with the object in his hand.

"man you did it...You're incredible! How did you did that?

"Eh...I don't know..."

Keinzer watched them from the car, smiling. And also...watched some kind of energy...growing behind them...

"Let's get outta here..." Elliot helps his friend to stand.

"What?" The boy questions when seeing Julian stops for a moment.

"...But what's!"

"Argh!"

A huge ellipse appears behind the boys and sucks with an great strentgh. Water, some rubble, trees and the boys start to be dragged! Even Subaru, as far as she was, feels the pull towards the energy.

The boys are rised from the ground, but julian quickly holds the mettalic rope with one of his hands. Elliot grabs his leg, while his other hand holded the shining Limiar.

"Mr. keinzer!" Julian screams. "Pull us!"

Despite Julian's call, keinzer just sees what's going on...with his hands on his back.

"Mr. Keinzer! What're you doing! Pull us! Fast!" He says, holding the rope while his hand bleeds with the wind's strentgh.

"Julian...you did a good work here!" The scientist says, taking some kind of laser knife(literally) from his back. "But if you want to save your loved ones...Find the other Limiars! You can do it! I know you can!"

"Mr. Keinzer!"

"Good luck...!"

Then, the scientist cuts the rope and Julian and Elliot are dragged to inside the energy violently.

Keinzer puts the knife and what's left of the the rope in the trunk and gets ready to leave...When something calls his attention. Another enters without hesitation inside the energy, dissapearing together with the boys...

"Humph...Subaru..." The scientist says, entering the vehicle and leaving...with some dificulty to gain speed.

Soon...the energy slowly fades, taking the three with it... 


End file.
